The Electoral Commission (EC) has debunked claims that it would struggle to organise a free and fair election following the theft of its five laptops.
On March 19, the Minority in Parliament called for urgent action from the police following the disappearance of seven biometric devices, expressing concerns about potential ramifications for the upcoming December elections.
The missing devices, intended for voter registration and verification by the EC ahead of its limited registration exercise, have prompted the Minority to press for a swift investigation.
According to the Deputy Chairman of the EC in charge of Corporate Services, Dr Bossman Asare, there was no need for such panic because the alleged stolen items do not concern sensitive data.
Addressing the press on March 20, he said the missing items were five laptops, and these gadgets do not have any ramifications on elections.
“Because of what is alleged to have been stolen the commission is hearing that we are at risk ahead of the 2024 general elections. The commission wishes to use this opportunity to assure you the media and all Ghanaians that we are not at risk and that we are fully ready for the 2024 elections,” he said.
He explained that these laptops did not contain any information on anyone and were merely gadgets.
"They do not contain any information on any voter neither do they contain any critical information so we want everyone to know that we are fully ready for the elections ahead. So the is no risks as far as the electoral commission is concerned,” he said.
Touching on the alleged theft of BVD and the BVRs, he said these equipment are often activated and connected to the EC systems on Election Day.
Therefore, even if these equipment were stolen, there was no data on them individuals could use to hamper elections.
“The BVDs are used for verification during elections. The BVRs are used for registration. The BVRs come in the form of a box we call them the BVR kit. In that box you are going to have a laptop, a scanner, a camera and you are going to have a printer, and other devices which constitute the kit.
“So each of the individual equipment that make up the kit, on their own do not have any bearing on our activities neither do they have any bearing on our registration exercise. It is any when we put them together. Even when we put them together we must activate them and connect them to our system before they can be used for registration purposes.
“When it comes to the BVDs we only use them when you are going to vote and we want to establish that you are the one you claim to be. So if even a BVD or BVR is missing they have no impact on our elections because on their own unless they are activated and connected to our system, on their own they cannot do anything.
“If perchance someone even steals a BVR or BVD and takes it somewhere you can still not register with it. You can still not be able to register applicants. The reason is that before registration will take place we need to activate that particular equipment and connect it to our system,” he clarified.
Meanwhile, he said the EC was working with the security agencies to arrest and prosecute the suspect of the stolen items.
In this light, he assured that the EC is confident that the system was secured and very robust to organise free and fair elections. He added that the EC was even convinced that the upcoming elections will go down in Ghana’s history as one of the best.
Credit: Connielove Mawutornyo Dzodzegbe